Flushed
by JazzieG
Summary: Links in with Season 4 Episode - Primacy. Should Colby be at work!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Numb3rs or it's characters. Shame, but tis true.**

**A/N: So there were certain aspects of Primacy which I wanted to address in my own way. Loved the episode but a few scratches from that water?! Really?! Guess that's why it's TV! Here's the first of a couple of chapters on my take!**

Flushed.

The siren sounded and Colby's heart lodged in his mouth. He turned to Charlie and Amita. "Get back up the ladder, NOW!" He ran over and managed to get hold of the ladder about halfway up before the wall of water hit him, as he saw it heading towards him, he barely had time to think, _this is gonna hurt, _before he was washed into the spillway, just about able to hear Charlie calling his name. He was trying his hardest not to swallow any water, but really it wasn't something he was able to control that easily. He was being spun round like he was in a washing machine, or maybe being flushed down a toilet. His body struck concrete on numerous occasions. He caught a brief sight of blue sky before being turned upside down again. If he didn't get himself up to the surface soon then he was going to drown. The thought no sooner crossed his mind than it gave him the kick up the ass he needed. He noticed that the water was lighter if he looked one way, and darker the other. He used every ounce of his fitness to push himself to what he hoped was the surface, through the lighter water. His head broke the surface, but he was still being washed along with the water, he needed to do something, and fast.

Ahead he caught sight of what appeared to be a bridge going across part of the spillway. The water was quite high and there was thick steel cabling underneath the bridge. If he could just make it over, he kicked his legs hoping beyond hope he could manage to reach the bridge, suddenly he found himself below it, he wasn't sure how, but he'd take the chance that had been offered to him. Reaching out as the water washed him at some speed passed the bridge, he managed to grab onto the steel cable with one hand, the water continued to rush underneath him, if he let go now, he'd go back in and there'd be no coming back up. He got his other hand on the cable, he could feel the muscles in his shoulders pulling as all his weight hung on both his hands, the cable shredding them. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get himself up onto the bridge.

Suddenly there was hope as he saw Charlie and Amita on the bridge above him. He had no idea how the professor was going to get him out of this one, somehow he doubted math was going to be the answer, and not to be rude, but Colby knew he was considerably more muscular than Charlie and weighed a good deal more. Nevertheless when Charlie laid down and reached his hand out he tried to grab it, but missed. He placed his hand back on the cable, he was running out of energy, the next time he tried to reach up he needed to be successful or it was over. Taking a deep breath he once again reached up for the young mathematicians hand, and managed to grab on to it. Charlie's grip was amazingly strong and firm, taking the risk Colby swung his other hand up onto one of the bars at the side of the bridge and between him nearly pulling his arm out of its socket to pull himself up and Charlie nearly wrenching his other arm out he found himself laying, exhausted, on the bridge.

"He tried to kill us." Stated Amita, her voice wobbly.

"Yeah, he did." Responded an out of breath, out of energy and almost out of luck Colby. Thinking to himself, _he very nearly succeeded in getting me._ The thought was a sobering one.

"We need to get you to a hospital." Charlie, also out of breath, spoke to him.

"No, I'm… I'm fine." He laid his head on the bridge. _At least I would be if my arms didn't feel like they're twice as long as they should be._

Charlie hugged Amita to him and they both watched Colby carefully as he briefly rested. They both knew how close they'd come to losing him. It was only the legendary stubbornness of Agent Granger and the determination of Professor Eppes that had saved him. Suddenly Amita realised that she could hear a voice.

"Oh my god, I forgot about Don!" She lifted her phone and passed it to Charlie, too shaken to deal with what sounded like a very angry FBI Agent.

"WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER ME. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? CHARLIE? AMITA?" Even Colby lifted his head at the sound, despite the fact the phone was nowhere near his ear, he could hear his Supervisor as clearly as if he was standing next to him.

"Don, calm down its….." Charlie said.

"Calm down?! Calm down he says?! I get a phone call from Amita telling me that Colby's been washed into the spillway and then nothing! All I could hear was you calling his name, god Charlie, tell me he's OK?"

Colby motioned for Charlie to give him the phone, the Professor was shaking and as white as a sheet, he really didn't need Don going off on him now, this was his responsibility so he'd speak to his boss. "Don, I'm fine." Croaked Colby.

"Damnit Colby, you nearly scared me half to death!"

"Sorry man." He was about to explain what had happened when he was overtaken by coughing. He handed the phone back to Charlie as he coughed up some of the water he'd swallowed.

"What happened Colb?"

"It's me Don, er, Colby is indisposed at the moment." He watched his friend carefully, he still thought they should take him to the hospital, but knew if Colby had made up his mind not to go there wasn't anything he could do about it. "We didn't know that the dam released into the spillway, we were down looking at something that looked like a clue, an alarm sounded, he ordered us back up the ladder, we made it, but he didn't. We managed to get him out, but he was washed a good half a mile before we did." Charlie paused, calculating the amount of time it had taken Colby to travel that distance, the time he had been in the water.

"Stop trying to work out how much water I've swallowed." Colby croaked, having finished coughing up dam water.

"How did you know?" Charlie asked.

"Because you always fall back on math when you're upset or stressed." Responded the agent knowingly.

"Hello? Still on the phone!" Don's voice bought the 2 men back to the present.

Once again taking the phone from Charlie. "I'm back. We'll get back to the car and head back to the office."

"You should probably go to the hospital and get checked out."

"Nah, I'm fine, just a few scrapes." Colby ignored the disbelieving looks and raised eyebrows that Amita and Charlie exchanged.

"Alright, get back here, get into some dry clothes and have one of our medics check you out. I mean it Colby."

"Yeah, OK."

"And Colby, you are not to drive."

"Er, Don, it's an FBI vehicle, neither Charlie or Amita can drive it."

"One of them can drive it, if anything happens I'll take responsibility. You are not to drive, that's an order!"

"Alright, alright! See you soon." Colby turned to Amita. "You're driving."

"Erm, OK. Where are the keys?"

"Good question." He slowly sat himself up and checked his pockets, by some miracle the keys were still in his jacket pocket. He pulled them out with a shaking hand. "Bit wet! Wonder if they'll work."

"Only one way to find out. Can you get up?" She asked.

He nodded and using the bars pulled himself up, once standing he found that his legs were a bit rubbery. Charlie stood by his side and held out a hand to steady him. The three took a long time to get back to the car, Amita hurried ahead to move the car as close to the top of the path as she could, luckily the keys still worked. Charlie helped the exhausted man settle into the front seat, before climbing into the back of the SUV. They headed back to FBI headquarters in silence.

* * *

Don's cell rang, he had only just made it into the office. There were quite a few other agents in this early in the morning, including Megan.

"Hey Megan, what on earth are you doing here at 06:00?"

"Hi Don, well I could ask you the same thing!"

"Wanted to be here when Colby checked in."

"Yeah same here…" That was the moment his cell rang and his day became a nightmare. "Eppes." His standard response, never one to check who was calling.

"Don, Don." Came the frantic voice of Amita. "Colby's been washed into the Northgate Dam spillway."

"Amita, calm down!" Don tried to soothe the clearly agitated Amita. "What do you mean Colby's been washed into the Dam's spillway?" His question had Megan on her feet standing next to him in a split second. "Amita? AMITA?" All he could hear was what sounded like someone running, and he could make out his brother's voice yelling Colby's name. Barely holding it together he kept repeating himself, hoping someone would respond. The longer it went without someone answering the louder his voice got, until the whole of the 7th floor had stopped what they were doing and were watching the scene unfold before them. After what Don felt was an unbearable length of time he finally lost it. "WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER ME. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? CHARLIE? AMITA?" Finally getting a response from Charlie and being told to calm down wasn't really what he wanted to hear. He finally got to hear it when Colby's voice came over the line telling him he was fine. Don suddenly found himself in need of a chair and sat down heavily at his desk, closely followed by Megan sitting in her chair and pulling it closer. After establishing that he wasn't going to go to the hospital and telling him to get checked by an FBI medic and giving him orders that Amita or Charlie were to drive Don hung up the phone with a shaking hand.

"He just can't stay outta trouble, can he?" Asked Megan, stunned that once again Granger had ended up in such peril.

Rubbing a hand over his face Don shook his head. "Just be grateful that David's on his days off and we haven't got to deal with him hovering over Colby! You know what the pair of them are like if something is wrong with the other one, especially now they've found their friendship again."

"Have you noticed how Colby always seems to end up in worse trouble when David is off? Seriously Don, you gotta start giving them the same days off, I'm getting too old for this!"

"Tell me about it, I think he just aged me by at least 10 years!"

The pair sat back in their chairs. All comments aside, they were extremely relieved to hear that Colby had survived his rollercoaster ride in the spillway waters. Don quickly sent Charlie a text asking him to let them know when they arrived at the FBI offices. He planned to be waiting for Colby, he needed to assure himself that the agent was really OK. While he did that Megan placed a call down to the HRT unit, speaking to Tim King she asked him to ensure that one of his medics checked Agent Granger over thoroughly and if they had even the slightest thought that he needed to get checked at the hospital and he refused then to call her and Don, they'd sort it. When she hung up she could hear Tim laughing and telling his medic that Colby had been up to mischief again!

* * *

Amita pulled into the FBI parking lot and nudged Colby gently to wake him up. He had fallen into an exhausted sleep almost immediately. The agent went to rub his hands over his face only to be greeted by the sight of his shredded palms.

"Come on man, Don said you need to get checked out by the medic." Charlie encouraged as he opened Colby's door.

Easing himself out of the SUV was easier said than done without aggravating his aching body, by the time he'd got out Amita was round ready to help if needed. _This is so humiliating_, thought the large man as he slowly made his way to the building with Amita on one side and Charlie on the other, the two were constantly exchanging looks of concern. Once in the elevator the professor pressed 5, the floor which housed the HRT medic and some of the team. On arriving at the floor Colby turned to his two bodyguards. "Hey guys, thanks, but why don't you head upstairs and assure Don that we're all in one piece, I'll be up as soon as I've been checked over."

"You promise you won't just wait 10 minutes and then head up without getting checked?" Asked Amita.

Charlie spotting the look on Colby's face decided he had best intervene before the large, and normally soft hearted, FBI Agent lost his temper. "Come on Amita, he'll be fine from here." He was rewarded by a look of gratitude from the bruised and battered man. It was going to be bad enough having the HRT medic laughing at him, without having those 2 hovering as well. He walked slowly down the hallway, taking a hesitant breath before knocking on the door that was where the medics normally resided. He wasn't surprised when he opened the door to find the room completely empty. Sighing he knew he was going to be forced to walk into the HRT bullpen area, something he had a feeling they'd done on purpose. Pulling himself up, carefully, to his full height he walked down the corridor to the bullpen. Walking round the corner he was met with a loud cheer from the dozen HRT Agents milling about, just waiting for their opportunity. "Uh huh, yeah, thanks guys! I'm here most days, purely to entertain all of you!"

"Granger, you do know that if you wanna wash you should just use a shower doncha?" Called one smartass across the bullpen. _Not particularly funny, _thought Colby.

"What's the matter Special Agent Granger, you needed some excitement in your life? If Violent Crimes isn't exciting enough, apply for a position in HRT!" Came another voice.

"I'd laugh but not one of you is funny." Replied Colby, grouchily.

Looking at him carefully Tim King decided that now really wasn't the time for teasing the man, he looked like, well actually, exactly how he should look considering he'd been thrown around the spillway. "Alright guys, that's enough. Brian, take him and check him over. Let me know if he requires a hospital trip." Tim held up his hand as he saw Colby about to protest. "Your Supervisor's orders Granger, suck it up!" He motioned with his hand for him to follow his medic.

Brian laid a gentle hand on Colby's arm and guided him out of the bullpen, he had already been assessing the man from the moment he walked into the office and he continued to do so as they walked back to the room the medics used to treat minor injuries. He was going to be sure to check his mobility and judging by the cough, he'd be listening to those lungs too. There were plenty of cuts to be checked as well. Brian opened the door to the treatment room and ushered Colby in. "Right, take your top and jacket off."

"Brian, you're a great guy, but I like women." Colby tried to jest.

"Granger, this is how it's gonna go, you're taking off your jacket and top, I'm going to listen to your lungs and chest, if I'm happy that they're clear, you'll go take a shower, I'll check your cuts and abrasions, bandage those hands and, unless I think you need hospital treatment you may be able to return to duty. Now lets get on with it, I haven't got all day."

Sighing in resignation and defeat Colby gingerly eased off his jacket and top. His shoulder muscles protesting with every movement. He sat on the examination bed against the wall as indicated by the medic and allowed the man to do whatever he needed to. He took deep breaths as instructed, shook his head when asked if taking deep breaths caused him any pain, after a good five minutes of being poked and prodded, Brian declared he was happy that Colby had coughed up any water he had swallowed, he could hear no fluid in the lungs. Agent Granger was one very lucky man. "Go take a shower, there's towels on a shelf in there." Brian indicated a door at the back of the room. "I'll get a change of clothes sorted for you."

A very subdued Colby did as instructed without comment, he couldn't wait to get out of the wet clothes. Closing the door behind him he stripped and turned on the shower, he allowed the hot water to run over his tired and aching body. He would have stood there longer but his legs weren't going to support his weight much longer, so he quickly washed and dried himself off as best he could, leaving spots of blood on the towel from his hands. Wrapping the towel round his waist he went back to the door and opened it to find Brian leaning against the wall. "Let me get a look at those cuts and then you can get dressed." He indicated that Colby should sit back on the bed. Brian took out some sterile gauze, antiseptic and butterfly strips and set about treating the multiple cuts over Colby's back, chest, arms and legs, the large Agent was silent throughout, but the medic could feel him tense every time he cleaned a cut. He then turned his attention to the cuts on his face. He used antiseptic and then applied the butterfly strips to 2 of the cuts, then looking at Colby's hands he winced, the skin was shredded from the braided cable he had hung from. There were no deep cuts, so he wouldn't need sutures at least. "This is gonna hurt man, sorry." He received a nod of acknowledgement in response and taking another sterile gauze pad out he soaked it with antiseptic and gently placed it on the palm of one of the other man's hands. Colby released a hiss of pain and closed his eyes, which is how he remained until the cleaning process had been completed. "Just gonna bandage those hands now. You're gonna have to be careful, make sure you keep the bandages on and keep the wounds clean otherwise you could end up with an infection, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks man." Colby gave Brian a small smile as he wrapped a bandage round each hand.

"I don't suppose telling you to go home and get some rest rather than going back to work will do any good, will it?" Brian raised an eyebrow, ever hopeful that one day an Agent that he treated would listen to his advice.

"Right in the middle of a case."

"Aren't you always?" Brian's question was rhetorical. "OK, well there are some things you need to look out for. If you start coughing, have trouble breathing, get any pain in your lungs or chest especially when taking a deep breath, if you feel dizzy or nauseous you need to come and see me, another medic or go to the hospital. You need to be aware of these symptoms for the next 72 hours."

"Alright."

"I mean it Granger. Any signs, anything unusual and you seek advice, secondary drowning is rare but it happens." Brian's tone told Colby that he was, indeed, serious.

"I get it. I promise, anything that's out of the ordinary get it checked."

"OK, get dressed, I'll sign you back to duty." Brian left the room to fill out the paperwork, hell use a band aid in this office and there was a stack of paperwork.

Colby noticed a pile of clothes on the chair, he recognised them as being the spare clothes he kept in his locker, one of the team must have dropped them in whilst he was having a shower. He eased himself into the FBI issue fleecy jumper, glad of the warmth, this may be LA, but that water had been cold and though the shower had warmed him some, sitting around in a towel whilst Brian administered treatment had dropped his body temperature again. He had just finished putting on his trainers, with some difficulty being that his mobility was a little limited in comparison to normal, when Brian knocked on the door and re-entered. "Here you go, the paperwork you need to sign agreeing that I recommended you leave work to rest but you declined."

Colby knew Brian had to cover himself, if something now happened to him whilst he was on duty the medic could be held responsible if he didn't sign the waiver. He signed his name in triplicate and thanked Brian again and reiterated his promise to get checked if he felt at all unwell and returned to work.

* * *

Don and Megan stood talking in one of the corridors on the 7th floor, waiting for Colby. They'd just received a call from Brian to let them know he was, reluctantly, allowing their colleague to return to work and he didn't require hospital treatment, he also made sure they knew that he had given Colby signs to watch out for that should have him seeking medical assistance immediately.

Colby rounded the corner and Megan pushed herself off the wall. "Hey Granger, what's with you and the water?"

"Hey!" Said Don reaching out to put a hand on his back, to register his concern, as much as Colby appreciated the gesture he dipped away from the movement, any pat, no matter how light, was gonna hurt right now.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking Megan!" Responded Colby. He knew that the snarky comment covered the concern she had likely been feeling, and he was sorry to have put her and the others through that. "It was a set up."

"Yeah definitely, that dam releases overflow every morning." Responded Don.

_Well wouldn't that have been nice to know before going and getting flushed?! _Thought Colby.

"How you doing, you really OK?" Asked Megan, this time allowing her concern to creep into her voice.

"Yeah I'm fine." Replied Colby, looking at his hands. If he looked her in the eye she wouldn't buy his tough guy act for a second. They continued their conversation whilst walking to the bullpen. They were discussing about how to stop Spectre when Charlie rushed in, breathless, with an idea on how to stop the guy.

"Yeah, does it involve your deceptive upper body strength?" Asked Colby, he still hadn't thanked the mathematician for saving his life, but there'd be time enough for that after the case.

"That was pure adrenaline." Charlie waved the comment off and launched into an explanation of how to create a mirror site to throw Spectre off. Everyone agreed it was a great plan and later that evening everyone, including Amita, Charlie and Larry were set up with a laptop in the conference room, all they had to do was hit keys. Don had tried to send Colby home, it was going to be a long night and the man had already had a long day. Predictably he wasn't going anywhere and Don didn't have time to argue as he had been asked by another team to help them out with some surveillance overnight. It was a long night, a very long night. Colby's body already tired he just rested his head on the back of his bandaged hand and repeatedly hit the keys on the laptop, after hours of this Spectre turned up, only for Amita to get carried away and kill him. Not part of the plan. Charlie left to do his TV interview and Megan, Larry, Colby and Amita waited for Spectre to make contact, when he did they were all stunned by the amount of information he'd managed to get together on Amita. Colby left Megan to sort out the mess they found themselves in, whilst he went to report in to Don, who had finished his surveillance stint and was back in the bullpen.

The meeting was set for MacArthur Park at 7am. Don tried again to get Colby to go home, but he was having none of it.

"Don, this guy nearly killed me, I want to see this through."

"Alright, understood, but I want you taking it easy and when the case is through so are you for a couple days rest, you hear?"

"Yes boss."

That settled they both went to get kitted out. Colby changed into a hoodie and baseball cap which he could pull low over his injured face to hide the cuts. He discreetly removed the bandages around his hands, he knew Brian would be livid if he knew, but what the man didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and since the others would be busy with their roles in protecting Amita they weren't likely to notice. He couldn't handle his gun properly with the bandages and they were a dead give away to Spectre if he was watching. Throughout the operation in MacArthur Park he stuck close to Amita, desperate to protect anyone else from getting hurt. He took great delight in slapping the cuffs on Spectre, despite the pain it caused in his hands.

Stepping into the light of the LA morning Colby was relieved to see that despite shouting at Don, Amita was held safely and lovingly in Charlie's arms. It hadn't gone as planned, but the outcome was a good one. Escorting the latest FBI prisoner to a nearby waiting vehicle Colby deposited him in the back seat and slammed the door on the case. He turned and then realised that he still had the paperwork to do and groaned. Megan spotted him and walked over. "How ya doing Colb?"

"I'm good, you?" He asked, taking off his baseball cap and going to run a hand through his hair. Two things stopped him, the fact the movement hurt his shoulder and would, no doubt, hurt his hand and the look on Megan's face.

"Damnit Colby!" She started raising her voice, he realised his mistake, she hadn't known he had removed his bandages, moving his hand to take off the cap had drawn her attention to his hand and things were about to get worse when Don heard her and joined them.

"Problem?"

"Ask Mr Invincible here?" She flapped her hand in Colby's direction.

The SAC raised his eyebrows questioningly and the younger agent shrugged as if he had no idea what Megan was talking about. She glared at him and he just looked passed her refusing to make eye contact. Tired, Don wasn't in the mood. "Alright kids, someone better tell me what the hell is going on here 'cos I'm not up for guessing games right now!"

Megan, too fast for Colby in his moderately impeded mobility grabbed his arm and waved his hand in front of Don's face. It took him a moment before realisation sunk in. "Fucking hell Colby!" He said, exasperated, knowing full well that Brian had told him to keep the bandages on. "Get in the car, now!" He ordered. "Now Agent Granger!" He repeated when Colby paused.

Deciding not to argue with his boss, after all they were right, he had removed the bandages against medical advice, he got into the back of the SUV that Megan had driven to the park. He rested his head back and closed his eyes.

"Seatbelt!" Barked Don, getting into the driver's seat as Megan got into the front passenger seat.

Not even bothering to open his eyes Colby reached back and grabbed hold of the belt, wincing at the discomfort even that caused, fastened it and remained silent. They had only been driving for 5 minutes before he was fast asleep. Megan turned round to check on him, relieved to see his breathing was normal. "What are you gonna do with him?"

"March him up to Brian, get his hands re-bandaged, allow the medic to give him the lecture he deserves, request he signs him unfit for duty, march him back to the car and take him home!"

"With a lecture of your own?!"

"Hell yes!" He replied, glancing in the rear view mirror at his now sleeping agent. He pulled into the FBI lot and got out, he opened the door to find Colby still asleep. "Colby, out!" He got no response, the man was clearly exhausted, he should have sent him home instead of letting him carry on, but he understood the desire to get the man that had caused his dip in the dam water. "Colb." He shook the sleeping man gently.

"Huh?"

"Out!" Repeated Don, shaking his head.

Colby carefully unfastened his belt and eased himself out, sitting down had probably not been the wisest thing to do as he was sorer than ever. He quietly followed Don into the building with Megan. The elevator stopped on the 5th floor and Don gave him a gentle shove, Megan chuckled and waved as the doors closed and she carried on up to the 7th floor. Don had called ahead to let Brian know they were on their way and the medic was waiting for them in the treatment room, door open. Both Agents walked in and Don closed the door, nodding a greeting to Brian.

"Special Agent Granger, what did I tell you about the bandages on those hands?" When he got no response he tried again. "That was not a rhetorical question!"

"Keep the bandages on and keep the wounds clean."

"Well done, and why was that?"

"In case of infection."

"Right again. So, that begs the question, why the hell did you remove the bandages?! Again, not a rhetorical question!"

"Couldn't handle my gun properly and the guy we were going after would have noticed the bandages and may have realised who I was since it was clear he had been watching us." Colby shrugged.

Shaking his head in disbelief Brian spoke again. "Sit on that bed, and don't move!" He went to some shelves and got more sterile gauze, a bowl of warm water, antiseptic and more bandages. He was probably a little rougher than he should have been, but he was fed up with macho Agents ignoring him. He had dealt with Agent Eppes' team on more than one occasion and Agent Granger was one of the worst, independent, stubborn, brave and deaf when it came to instructions on caring for an injury. Ten minutes later his hands were freshly bandaged and he had been told, in no uncertain terms, that he was to leave them on and change them again in 24 hours. This time Brian filled out the pile of paperwork which included a form stating that Granger was unfit for duty and was not to return to work for a period of 48 hours at which time he was to be reassessed. Don nodded in satisfaction and Colby pouted. Had Brian and Don been women, or inclined towards male partners, the pout may have worked, but since they weren't it was met with stony stares.

"Thanks Brian, I'm gonna take this reprobate home."

"Might wanna take away his car keys and lock him in his own apartment, confiscating those keys as well!" Remarked Brian, chuckling at the roll of the eyes he received from Don. "And you." He pointed to Colby. "My instructions from earlier about symptoms to look out for still stand! I'm serious as a heart attack Granger, if something happens to you, I'll revive you myself just to kill you, got it?!" He received a compliant nod in response.

"Come on Colby, lets get you home before you drop right here in front of us." Ordered Don. He was surprised when there was no argument but was also glad that it was unnecessary to put his boss hat on again.

Pulling up outside Colby's apartment complex Don got out and walked up to his first floor apartment with him. He made sure that he was inside safely and that he didn't need anything. "Get some rest and I don't want to see you back in the office for 2 days, someone will pick you up and then you report straight to the medics for another check up on arrival at the office, clear?"

"Yes boss."

"Rest!" Don left pulling the door closed behind him.

Colby, for his part headed straight to his bedroom, stripped and collapsed on to his bed, barely having time to cover himself before he was asleep.

* * *

Back at the FBI offices Don went to the 7th floor to find Megan and found that she wasn't alone.

"David? What are you doing here?" He asked sitting at his desk and pulling the paperwork from this latest case towards him.

"Megan called me to tell me Colby had been ordered off duty for 2 days, I popped by to see if there was anything you needed."

"Uh huh, course you did." Don wasn't fooled for a minute. David knew he had dropped Colby at his apartment and was wondering if he should go check on his partner, but not wanting to disturb him dropped by to speak to Don before going over or calling him. "He's fine David, he was heading for bed when I left, and judging by the looks of him that's where he's gonna remain for at least 24 hours!"

"So he was really OK?"

"David, I would have taken him to the ER if he hadn't been man. He's been given information of symptoms to look out for over the next 72 hours and if he presents with any of them he has promised to seek medical advice."

"Really?" David asked, clearly unconvinced.

"Yeah, I wasn't convinced either, but Brian put the fear of God into him earlier!" Chuckled Don.

"Alright, well I guess I'll check on him tomorrow afternoon then. In the meantime need anything?"

"I would love to say yes, help with the paperwork, but since you weren't working the case it's not much use, so I'd get outta here before a new case comes in and enjoy the rest of your time off!" Replied Don.

"See you tomorrow then." David quickly headed for the elevator.

"You had to call him eh?"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble we'd have been in tomorrow if he came in and found Colby off because he's unfit for duty?!" Megan asked.

"Point taken." Don turned back to his pile of paperwork. It was all very well being a good boss and friend but it left him with Colby's share of the paperwork as well.

* * *

David reached the office and kept staring over at his partner's desk in between checking through files that Don had asked him to review. As lunch time grew nearer he kept checking his watch. By the time it got to around 1pm both Don and Megan were ready to take the watch off him to prevent him glancing at it.

"Get outta here would ya." Don said gruffly.

"Boss?"

"Go check on him. You've been checking your watch for over an hour and it's driving me mad."

"Now you know how we feel when you do it!" Mumbled Megan.

"I heard that Reeves."

"You sure it's alright for me to go now? I mean, I'd like to check on him, but…"

"Seriously man, go. You're no good to us when you're checking your watch every 5 minutes, perhaps if you take a couple of hours to check on Colby we can all get some work done. I'd like to know how he's doing too." Don said.

Not needing to be told again David grabbed his jacket and virtually ran out the door, much to the amusement of Don and Megan. Anybody meeting Colby and David for the first time would think they were a couple to listen to them, this wasn't the case but their friendship, their bond, was closer than most FBI Agent partnerships. They were as much brothers as Don and Charlie. That meant they argued, supported each other, cared about each other and would ultimately die for each other if it were necessary. The fact that David had been on a couple of days off during this case had not been his fault, but he would still want to see Colby for himself, Don's reassurances would only go so far to ease his mind.

Reaching Colby's apartment block he buzzed to get in, but there was no answer. He pulled out his cell and called the apartment and then Colby's cell, still getting no answer. He tried the buzzer, the apartment phone and his cell phone repeatedly. He stood outside for 10 minutes hoping to get his partner's attention. He decided to try a different number.

"Eppes."

"Don, he's not answering his door, his apartment phone or his cell."

"He's probably just sleeping bud." Don tried to reassure a clearly fractious David.

"I dunno, I would have thought he would have heard something by now, I've been trying for 10 minutes."

"Use your key." Don replied. He was met with silence. "David, why can't you use your key?"

"I don't have one." David responded softly.

"Huh? Thought you guys had keys to each others places, same as Charlie and me?"

"Well after the whole, er, Lancer thing, and all I kind of gave him his key back and took mine back, haven't got round to exchanging keys again." David kicked at the ground in front of him annoyed with himself for not swallowing his pride sooner and bringing up the subject of swapping keys again with his partner.

Don couldn't believe that they still kept coming back to bloody Mason Lancer. The consequences of that man's actions had been far reaching, wreaking havoc and even after all these months he was still capable of causing problems.

"Alright, Megan and I are on our way. He keeps a spare key in his drawer." Don got up from his chair determined that this would be the last thing that Lancer would influence in regards to his team. He turned to Megan and indicated they were heading out after going through Colby's desk to find his key, he explained the reason on route to the garage.

They were about half way to Colby's apartment when Don's cell rang again. He had switched to hands free and answered. "Eppes."

"Don, it's bad, he's bad…" David babbled.

"David, calm down. What's happened?" Megan spoke, never had she heard David babble, so it had to be Colby and it had to be serious.

"One of his neighbours let me in as she was entering after I showed my badge…."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs or the characters, hell I don't even own the roof over my head!**

**A/N: I may have taken the odd liberty (don't I always?!) so forgive me if there are a few oddities! I did do some research on my subject though. Thank you so much for the reviews and the alerts, I was quite literally stunned by your response!**

Light was shining through the gap in Colby Granger's bedroom curtains. He blearily opened one eye, suddenly very aware that he was in desperate need of a visit to the bathroom. Going to roll out of bed in the same way as any other day turned out to be a mistake, as he had, in his just woken state, forgotten about his argument with the Northgate Dam spillway. He ended up falling back on to the bed with a groan. It wasn't so much that he was in pain, well not that really agonising pain but more that nagging discomfort, of the kind you get when you've run too far, spent too much time at the gym or maybe had a bit of a beating. He figured that the beating would cover it, only his was by water, not by a human being, though at the time the water had pummelled him more efficiently then any person could have. Getting up, this time slower, Colby carefully and slowly made his way to the bathroom, he took care of his full bladder, washed his face and cleaned his teeth. He realised that he was also hungry and he had no idea what the time was, padding back into the bedroom he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt. The clock showed it was just after 11am. What the hell? Don had dropped him off around 10am yesterday morning, at least he assumed that had been yesterday, that meant he had slept for the best part of 24 hours. He couldn't remember ever having done that before, with the exception of drug induced sleep when in the hospital. If he'd slept so long why did he feel so crap still. He mentally ran through the checklist Brian had provided him with, he crossed them all off the list, so he just put it down to sleeping too long, if there was such a thing and that his body needed food. Heading out to the kitchen he checked the fridge, he hadn't done a shop in a while, so there wasn't much in it. He grabbed a carton of OJ and poured himself a glass and opened the cupboards, nothing there but cereal. He got himself a bowl and spoon and poured in the cereal and the last bit of milk that was left then sat himself at his dining table and ate. Once finished he drank the rest of the OJ and put both the bowl and glass into the sink to be washed up later. Feeling better for getting something to eat he decided to take a shower and take a walk to the nearby store to get some essentials to tide him over. He couldn't drive anywhere since Don had made certain his car remained at the FBI offices.

Showered, changed into a pair of grey jeans and a loose fitting white shirt, no way could he manage to get into a t-shirt the way his shoulders were feeling. He grabbed his wallet and house keys, locked up and made his way slowly down the stairs, deciding slowly was going to be the way of things for a couple of days at least. The store was only a couple of blocks from his apartment, and would normally have only taken him 10 minutes to walk, 30 minutes later he finally made it to the store. A few minutes from the store he had started to cough. He thought about turning back but could see the store and knew he needed those essentials. 20 minutes later he was checking out. Carrying the bags he realised that the cough had got a little more persistent. He'd get back to the apartment and call Brian, he didn't think it was serious enough to go to the hospital but the medic had said to call him if he was worried and though he wasn't really he didn't want another lecture because he hadn't called, better to be safe than lectured, right? Of course he could have used his cell if he hadn't been stupid enough to leave it at home, something he hadn't realised until he was 5 minutes down the road and he couldn't be bothered to turn back to get it. It took just over another 30 minutes for him to make it back to the apartment building, he was tired, perhaps the walk had been too much, but he'd call Brian, have a lay down and be right as rain tomorrow, ready to go back on duty. The cough was starting to get on his nerves now, and his chest was hurting, probably from the damn coughing. Unlocking the door to the apartment complex he started to make his way up the stairs to his apartment, he got to the top and found he was short of breath. Alarm bells started ringing loudly. What was it Brian had said? Coughing, pain in his chest, difficulty breathing, that was 3 of the boxes ticked, he needed to get into his apartment but found he could go no further and crumpled to the floor at the top of the flight of stairs, just metres from his apartment door, from the phone that would bring him the help he so desperately needed. It was getting harder to breathe, the air he was taking in was insufficient for his body's needs, getting dizzy he rested his head on the floor, he'd take a minute then he'd get to his door, even if he had to crawl on his hands and knees.

* * *

David stood impatiently outside the complex, he was desperate to get into the building and check on his friend. Why hadn't he suggested to Colby that they exchange keys again? Did he still not trust his partner? NO! That wasn't it, he just never got round to bringing it up. Looking at his watch he realised he'd only called Don a matter of minutes ago, time was dragging. It was possible that another of Colby's friends had popped round, taken him out maybe. What friends though? David wasn't aware of any other friends, none of the team really socialised outside of their group, the hours, the amount of time left at the end of a long day investigating. They were a family and spent a lot of time together, though he knew that both Megan and Colby practiced different types of martial arts and they each had their hobbies. David himself helped out at a Community Centre, once upon a time Colby would join him there now and then, something they hadn't done in a while. The kids had loved the large Agent and had run both of them ragged playing basketball, it had been a blast. Next time he went he'd make sure he asked his friend to join him, it was time to get their friendship fully back on track, back to the way things used to be. No, better than before.

"Excuse me young man." The voice of an elderly lady broke into his thoughts.

"Ma'am?" David asked politely.

"You are standin' in my way!" She pointed towards the door he was standing in front of, his large frame completely blocking it.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He stepped to one side, the lady eyed him suspiciously, her steel grey eyes missing nothing.

"You lost?" She asked.

"Actually, I'm here to visit a friend, but I can't get hold of him, he was sent home from work sick and I wanted to check on him."

"Is that right?" The elderly lady had not been born yesterday, she knew not to trust a man loitering outside of the building, but there was something in the man's eyes, it looked like fear. "Who's your friend?" She asked.

"Colby Granger, do you know him?"

"I do. Lovely young man, so polite and helpful." Still not quite trusting the man before her and not wanting to give too much away.

This lady was cagey, David thought to himself. Not a bad thing in this day and age. "Ma'am, I wouldn't normally ask this, but would you be willing to let me into the building?"

"Now young man, do I look like I don't have all my marbles?" She asked.

"Mrs…?"

"Ms Eleanor Jones." She supplied.

"Ms Jones, I work with Colby at the FBI, he's my partner." He pulled out his badge and showed it to her. "He was injured in the line of duty 2 days ago and he's now not answering his phone, I'm worried about him. Perhaps, if you won't let me in, you'd be willing to go to his apartment and knock on his door for me, see if you can get hold of him."

Eleanor Jones took the ID and studied it carefully, noting the name, it had actually been Colby that had cautioned her about allowing just anyone into the building, he had spent a lot of time checking her home was secure, he had also spoken about his partner, a man he referred to as a brother, she recalled his name was David, the same as on the ID , she was now sure, standing before her was that man, he was almost beside himself. "Sonny, you look like you're about to jump out of your skin, Colby speaks about you all the time, you come in and check on him."

David smiled at the woman, grateful for her consideration, as well as surprised that Colby had spoken of him to her. "Thank you Ms Jones."

"You may call me Eleanor, Agent Sinclair, any friend of Colby's can use my first name." She smiled warmly, changing the steel grey eyes to warm pools.

"Then you can call me David." He returned what he saw as a compliment. He waited whilst she used her key to unlock the door, he stepped inside holding the door open for her.

"Ah a gentleman just like Colby." She turned to walk down the corridor towards her ground floor flat and gasped as her eyes fell on a figure laying at the top of the stairs, the bottom of which she had to pass.

Hearing her gasp, David was by her side moments later, following her line of sight he saw the same figure, instantly recognising it as that of his partner. "Colby!" He shouted, taking the stairs 2 at a time. When he reached his side he found that his breathing was laboured. Grabbing his cell he called control requesting an ambulance for an Agent down, hoping that those words would bring help all the quicker. He then dialled Don's number again.

"Eppes."

"Don, it's bad, he's bad…" David babbled.

"David, calm down. What's happened?" Megan spoke, never had she heard David babble, so it had to be Colby and it had to be serious.

"One of his neighbours let me in as she was entering after I showed my badge, he's slumped at the top of the stairs, his breathing is laboured. I've called for an ambulance."

"We'll be there in 10 minutes." Megan shut the phone off as Don hit the sirens, not the first time they had used them to get to the scene of an injured colleague in a hurry.

David turned his full attention back to his partner, after briefly glancing at Eleanor who was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. A compassionate man he was torn between being with Colby and making sure that Eleanor was alright. Seemingly sensing the Agent's concern Eleanor spoke. "I'll make sure that the paramedics can get in."

David gave her a grateful smile. "Colby, man, can you hear me?" He gently shook him.

Colby was finding it harder and harder to catch a breath, he was aware that he was laying on something hard, but stranger still was he could hear David's voice. He was so tired, but he heard panic in that voice, he needed to let his partner know he could hear him. Steeling himself he managed one word. "David."

"You're gonna be OK. Ambulance is on the way, stay with me bud."

"Hard. To. Breathe."

"I know, just take it easy. I'm here, I want you to stay with me." He repeated.

"Tired."

David heard the sweet sound of sirens. "Hear that man? That's help, they'll be here soon." He watched Colby closely, willing him to stay awake, stay alive. Moments later the sirens stopped and he heard the sounds of doors opening and then slamming, followed by running feet. Eleanor's voice carried up the stairs as she directed the 2 paramedics to where their patient lay.

"Sir? What happened?" The older, male paramedic asked.

David quickly gave them a run down on how he had found Colby, the incident in the spillway and what he had observed since finding him, stepping out of their way as he did so.

"Gimme the O2." The male paramedic turned to the younger female one, who instantly did as instructed. "Go grab the chair, we're gonna need to carry him out of here." Leaving the O2 on the ground next to the patient she ran back down to the ambulance. The man spoke to Colby. "Can you hear me? My name is Jack, we're gonna take good care of you, alright?"

Colby managed to nod slightly in response. Though the oxygen was helping a little it still hurt to take even a shallow breath. He felt a slight scratch as the man who had identified himself as Jack slid a needle into the back of his hand, allowing him to connect up an IV. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and drifted into unconsciousness.

Don and Megan pulled into the car park a few minutes after the ambulance, they were just in time to see the paramedics carrying their colleague in a chair to the ambulance, David hot on their heels. They spoke to him briefly whilst Colby was transferred from the chair they had used to get him out of the apartment onto the gurney, raising the back so he was sitting up. His colour was grey, his lips had a tinge of blue. "I'm going to go to the hospital with him." Stated David.

"We'll follow." Don replied. Turning he found an elderly lady before him.

"David." Came her quiet, concerned voice, causing the worried agent to turn. "Please let me know how he's doing when you know anything?"

"Eleanor, of course I will. Give your number to Agent Eppes here." He indicated Don, before squeezing her hand and jumping into the back of the ambulance. The lady quickly gave Don her number, which he wrote down in his pad, assuring her he would call as soon as there was news. He had no idea who she was, but from David's reaction to her he knew that it was important to him. He got back behind the wheel of the SUV, Megan climbing into the passenger seat, barely getting the door closed before Don took off after the ambulance.

David grabbed hold of Colby's hand as soon as he was sat in the back whilst allowing Jack to do his job. He hooked him up to a heart monitor and pulse oximeter. All David knew was his friend was struggling for breath and the beeps coming from the monitors were doing nothing to reassure him as they weren't the regular rhythm of a normal heart rate. "Is he gonna be OK?" He asked nervously.

"I suspect it's secondary drowning, from what you've told me about the incident in the spillway. It causes pulmonary oedema, making it difficult for the patient to breathe. Its serious, I'm sorry I can't say more than that at the moment." Jack wanted to reassure this man, but he didn't want to lie. The ambulance pulled up outside the ER, the doors were flung open and all David heard was a lot of medical jargon as they unloaded his brother. He followed them into the ER until a nurse stopped him. "This is as far as you can go for now I'm afraid." She said sympathetically. "Someone will come out and speak to you once he's been seen." With that she headed into the trauma room and the door closed behind her.

Colby sat on the bed he had been transferred to, he had come round as they had moved him from the gurney, doing his best to respond to the questions the doctors and nurses were throwing at him whilst trying to catch his breath. He was not a man to show fear, but at that moment he was terrified, memories of not being able to get his breath on that damn freighter when Lancer stuck him with the needle. Drowning, that's what he said the feeling had been likened to, well Colby now knew first hand that the drug did replicate that feeling exactly. A knowledge he would rather not have had. Somewhere deep in his mind he knew the fact that he was panicking wasn't helping but he couldn't bring his fear under control, he didn't know how. The doctor and nurses had tried to put something over his head, some kind of mask, but he fought them, his fear making him stronger than normal.

"Colby, you need to let us help you, we're trying to put a mask on which will administer high concentration oxygen, you have Pulmonary oedema which is preventing the exchange of oxygen. Will you please let us put it on?" A Doctor asked him. Colby looked into the sincere, warm brown eyes of the man and decided that it couldn't make him feel any worse than he did already and nodded his consent. He felt as much as saw the mask being placed on his face, the difference between this and his previous experience of an oxygen mask was there were 2 straps round his head. "This is called CPAP, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, it will deliver the oxygen in a higher concentration than a normal mask, it's not going to be particularly comfortable, but we need to get your lungs working properly, so try to bear with it alright?" The Doctor explained, making sure his patient was ready, then indicating to the nurse that she should switch the oxygen flow on. "You will find it harder to breathe out initially, just try to let it do it's job and relax, I know that's easier said than done, but once you get used to it breathing should be much easier."

Colby trusted the medical staff to know what they were talking about in the same way that he would expect them to trust him if there was somebody in here waving a gun about, so he figured he'd go with it. The staff continued to check him over thoroughly, the doctor checked all his cuts and bruises, removing the bandages off the Agent's hands. He could see that the treatment the young man had received following the adventure in the dam spillway had been excellent, but there was an early indication of infection in one of the palms so he instructed a nurse to administer some antibiotics via the IV they had set up. The nurses had stripped him to his boxers and had him wrapped in warm blankets, although still finding breathing difficult the mask was helping, and he was calmer. The Doctor had left to arrange for Colby to be transferred to the high dependency unit, he would need to be closely monitored whilst the CPAP was being used. Once the transfer was arranged he finally approached his patient's friends.

"Are you here with Agent Granger?" He received 3 nods of assent. He explained that Colby was by no means out of the woods, but was more comfortable, he told them about the CPAP, how it would help and that he was being transferred to a high dependency unit shortly and they could see their friend once he was settled there. Going back into the trauma room the calmer patient he had left was once more starting to show signs of distress. "Colby?" He hurried over to him. "Having more trouble breathing?" If that was the case they were going to have to put him on a ventilator, something he'd rather not do as chances of a full recovery would diminish.

Colby in the meantime wondered how he was supposed to get across to the doctor what the problem was with this mask on his face, he shook his head at the Doctor's question. He put his hand on his chest and tried to pull a face, the seal of the mask prevented him from doing much else.

"Is your chest hurting?" The Doctor asked. Colby looked relieved that the game of charades hadn't gone on longer and nodded. "Alright, I'll give you a little morphine for that." He turned to instruct the nurse on dosage and a few minutes later Colby was a little more comfortable.

* * *

David, Don and Megan watched as the Doctor headed back into the trauma room that currently held their friend.

"Why don't we head upstairs and wait until we can see him?" Suggested Megan, she could see that she was going to have do the rational thinking. David was shuffling his feet, a look of guilt plastered across his face. Don stared out the ER doors, a similar look of guilt. She was quite sure the reasons for the guilt were completely different. She figured she would call in reinforcements when neither man responded to her question, leaving the ER she made a quick call before returning to the 2 men and pushing them gently towards the elevator that would lead them to the floor with the HDU on it, she continued guiding them to the waiting room then went to let one of the nurses know why they were there. She received assurances that as soon as Agent Granger arrived and was settled she would let them know.

Returning to the waiting room she found David and Don sitting a few chairs apart and completely lost in their own worlds, sighing she took a seat where she could keep an eye on both of them and waited for her back up to arrive. Megan didn't have to wait long until the door to the room they were in opened and admitted Alan and Charlie Eppes, neither David or Don looked up.

Alan walked over to his eldest son and cleared his throat. "Donnie?" He said softly.

Startled Don looked up. "Dad, Charlie? What are you doing here?"

"Megan called us, she thought some support was in order." Charlie replied.

Don leaned round his Dad, who was currently blocking his view of his most senior agent. She suddenly found her nails very interesting. Alan and Charlie took a seat either side of Don, whilst Megan got herself up, put a hand on David's shoulder and manoeuvred him to the opposite end of the room so she could speak with him privately.

"Don?" Alan asked again, waiting for the dark brown eyes to meet his. "This is not your fault."

"I sent him to the dam with Charlie and Amita, I allowed him to keep working, I didn't check on him, did I mention that I allowed him to keep working?!" Don ran a hand through his hair and looked at his watch for maybe the hundredth time since arriving at the hospital.

Charlie put his hand on his brother's. "Don, if Colby hadn't been there something could have happened to someone else." He gave Don a moment to take this in. "If Amita and I hadn't been there Colby may have drowned." Don thought about it, there was truth in what Charlie had said, but he still allowed the man to return to work.

"Donnie, I'm sure Colby won't mind me pointing out that he is a grown man, a very stubborn, independent, grown man, if he said he wanted to stay at work and the medic backed his decision then there was nothing you could do about it." Alan stated.

At that moment the waiting room door opened again, this time Tim King stood in the open doorway, filling it with his broad form, standing just behind him was Brian, the medic that had treated Colby. Tim stepped to one side to allow Brian to enter, the medic approached Don. "I'm sorry about Colby."

Tim watched carefully, if Eppes did anything to upset his Agent then he would step in. Brian had been beating himself up about his decision to allow Granger to return to work the first time he saw him, but he was a great medic, and Tim was sure that no decision Brian had made had brought them to this point. In fact he was sure that nobody, not even the great mathematician sitting in the room, could have predicted this would happen. Secondary drowning was rare in cases like Colby's.

Don looked up into the worried eyes of the medic, who seemed to be bracing himself for some kind of tongue lashing. He stood up and placed a hand on the medic's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Brian. As Dad just said Colby can be very persuasive when he wants to be." Alan smiled, not exactly what he'd said, but close enough, it also seemed his eldest had momentarily stopped beating himself up.

Brian and Tim both sighed with relief. The medic still felt bad, but he hadn't thought that Colby was in any danger, he had spoken to the Doctor in the ER and had been reassured by him that sometimes there are no signs until a couple of days later.

At the other end of the waiting room Megan had been waiting for David to talk to her, but as yet he had remained silent. Deciding the man needed a prod she spoke first. "What's going on in that head of yours Sinclair?" She asked.

"If only I'd had the spare key, I could have got into the apartment building sooner." David rested his head on his hands.

"Maybe if I had checked on him on my way to the office, like I had thought about doing… David, what ifs aren't going to do you or him any good now. I suggest you focus on the fact that the 2 of you have been better friends in the last weeks than before the whole Lancer thing, despite the fact I know you think differently. So, you didn't think to take his spare key back, and he didn't think to give it to you, or get yours, get over it!" Megan had learnt from the period after Colby returned to the LA offices after getting out of hospital following the triple agent case that it was no good tiptoeing round the subject, she needed to be blunt and give David a bit of a kick. "Neither of you could have predicted this and, David, you were there for him when it mattered. If it hadn't been for your determination to check on him…" She left the words unsaid, everyone in the room was all too aware that they could have lost their friend and that he was still not completely out of the woods.

Stepping into the waiting room the nurse was surprised to see 7 people waiting, she had only seen 3 people come in. "Are you all here for Agent Granger?" They all turned to face her and nodded. "Right, well you can't all go and see him at once, divide yourselves up into 2 groups and only a few minutes please, he needs to rest." She said sternly, Don, David and Megan quickly followed the nurse out to Colby's room. "Just a few minutes." She reminded, leaving them so they could have some privacy.

The 3 FBI Agents stepped into the room, despite being told about the CPAP being used it was still a bit of a shock to see Colby resting, eyes closed, in a semi-upright position with the mask covering most of his face. The monitors beeped in a now steady rhythm, much to David's relief. Crossing over to the bedside Megan rested her hand on Colby's, causing him to open his eyes. He gave a small smile to try to reassure her as he could see her eyes clouded with worry.

"Granger I'm going to get you fitted with water wings!" She blurted, it was the first thing to come to her mind. The man did have an uncanny knack for ending up in water, perhaps they should just insist that he wore a life jacket as well as a Kevlar vest, or maybe someone could design a Kevlar vest with a life jacket incorporated in it. She squeezed his hand and was relieved to feel him squeeze back.

Don stepped forward, Colby thought the man looked tired and felt bad for being the cause of the concern that was also in the eyes of his Supervisor. "In future, if I tell you to go home, you go home. Got it?!" Not really in a position to argue, which was rather unfair, Colby just nodded slightly. "Get some rest."

David was the last of the team to appear at his bedside. Colby's heart clenched at the look on his partner's face. Guilt was written over his face. Lifting his hand he grabbed David's arm and shook his head, giving him a smile. Turning to Don, David held out his hand, understanding what the man was after Don handed it over. Turning back to his friend David pulled out his keys and showed Colby the keys he held in his other hand which Don had given him, the man recognised them as being the keys to his apartment that he had been keeping in his drawer at the office, he watched as David slid the spare keys on to his own key ring. "When you get out of here, I'm gonna give you my key again." He turned away from the bed for a moment, then turned back with a big grin on his face. "Don't think that means you can drop by in the middle of the night though!" His partner had previously developed the habit of dropping by when he couldn't sleep after a case, on a couple of occasions David had Claudia staying, Colby had frightened her half to death. He patted his partner's arm. "See you tomorrow."

As they exited Tim, Brian, Alan and Charlie entered, they all just wanted to reassure themselves that Colby really was still with them. As soon as Colby saw Brian he started to try to say something to the man, he wanted to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, Colby had listened to Brian the second time, it was just unfortunate that when he recognised the symptoms the medic had described he hadn't had his cell with him to call for help. Brian seeing the Agent struggling put his hand up. "It's alright Colby, we'll talk in a couple of days and you can tell me all about it, but David's already told me you didn't have your cell with you to call for help. It'll be alright." He found himself reassuring the agent.

Tim smiled, not something the HRT leader did very often, he liked Granger and the whole Eppes team, they worked well together and he would have hated for this incident to get in the way of that. He pointed a finger at Colby. "Granger, stay out of mischief for a while huh?"

Colby nodded his head in response, he had no intention of ending up back in the hospital anytime soon, then having thought that he realised that he hadn't intended on getting washed into the spillway either.

"You're coming to Chez Eppes, when you get discharged from here Colby." Charlie stated.

When the young man started to shake his head Alan put in his thoughts. "Oh yes you are young man. My eldest is going to need to be assured that you are alright, the best way to do that is for you to stay with us. No arguments for once, eh?"

Colby gave a tired smile, he might be able to argue with, Don, or Charlie, or even Alan, but no way could he fight all 3 Eppes men, when they were in agreement on something they were a force to be reckoned with. Alan seeing that Colby was tiring quickly smiled, pulled the blankets up around the man and watched him drift off to sleep, the CPAP having eased his breathing enough to help him rest.

* * *

The following morning Colby woke not knowing where he was, firstly he was sitting up, which in itself was odd, he had something over his face which was disconcerting to say the least. He felt like there was something he should be remembering, but his memory was a little hazy, this in turn made him panic. Reaching up he tried to remove the offending item from his face. Suddenly the room filled with the sound of an alarm and he was surrounded by people he didn't know.

"Colby, can you hear me, you're in hospital, calm down." A female voice said off to his right. "You need to calm down, breathe normally, we'll try to make you more comfortable alright?" The man on the bed nodded. "Lets get the mask off, it's making him panic, lets see how he tolerates a normal oxygen mask."

It was with some relief the mask practically covering his whole face was removed and a lighter mask placed over his nose and mouth, he was now able to take in his surroundings a bit easier and suddenly he remembered everything in minute detail and suddenly wished he could go back to having a hazy memory of the passed few days. "That better Colby?" The same voice from a few minutes ago asked gently. Looking in the direction of the voice Colby saw a blonde haired female in a white coat, presumably this was his doctor. Seeing his confusion the doctor quickly introduced herself. "I'm Doctor Jamieson, I've been looking after you throughout the night. You've given us a few little scares, but all in all, you're doing much better. Can you remember why you're here?"

"Pulmonary something, secondary drowning?" He asked, his voice muffled by the mask.

"That's right, pulmonary oedema. We've removed the CPAP mask and we'll see how you manage with just the normal mask for a while, but any signs of deterioration in your O2 levels and the CPAP goes back on, OK?"

"Yeah, alright." He agreed reluctantly. He must have been really out of it to allow them to put that thing on his face.

"Feeling up to some visitors? There are a few people desperate to see how you're doing."

He nodded, knowing it was likely to be David, Don and Megan. He might as well get the lectures about going out without his cell over and done with now, then perhaps he could get some more sleep, he was inexplicably tired.

The Doctor left the room to go and speak with the visitors she had mentioned. "Don't look so worried." She tried to reassure them. "He just reacted badly to waking up fully with the CPAP mask in place, he's on normal oxygen now, if he tolerates that and his stats remain stable he'll be transferred to the general floor this afternoon, then all being well discharge tomorrow."

"What were the little scares you referred to?" Megan asked.

"He kept falling asleep and then panicking on waking up, just like now, except he wasn't ready to have the CPAP removed at the time, but he doesn't seem to remember that, which is a good thing. Trauma can affect people in strange ways. Now you can all go in and see him for a few minutes." She motioned for the nurses to give the group some privacy. There were more people than she would normally allow in at once, but she had the feeling her patient would benefit from the visit.

The nursing staff had lowered the head of Colby's bed slightly so he was laid back a little further. He was surprised to see not just the other members of his team, but Alan and Charlie enter the room.

"Morning Colb, how you feeling?" Megan asked, sitting on the side of his bed and taking his left hand, careful to avoid the cannular.

"Like I'm never going swimming again!" Murmured Colby.

"Well, bud, I can't say that you didn't scare the shit outta us, avoidance of water would be good except in the case of showers." Don smiled from his position at the bottom of the bed.

"Man, what about surfing?" Asked David incredulously, knowing it was another thing Colby loved to do in his limited downtime.

"Might have to make an exception for that." Colby smiled at his partner who was sitting on the other side of the bed from Megan.

"Well, Colby Granger, it does an old man's heart good to see you breathing easier and talking." Alan said softly, all of his son's team were an extended family and coming so close on the heels of the Lancer incident this had been one scare too many.

"You're never going anywhere on your own again, you know that don't you?" Asked Charlie, smiling.

Colby removed the oxygen mask, it was very important to the agent that the mathematician hear him loud and clear. "Wasn't on my own, had my very own hero with me when I went into the spillway." Colby's tired green eyes met Charlie's brown ones. "I never got the chance to say it, but thank you Charlie, you saved my life."

Don glanced over at his brother who was shifting position uncomfortable at the attention he was suddenly getting and blushing furiously. He was amazed, he didn't think he had ever seen Charlie bashful about an achievement in his life. He reached over and patted his brother on the shoulder, grinning at him with pride.

A strident voice came from behind the group. "Special Agent Granger put that mask back on, right this minute!" They parted to see a small nurse, in her 50's, rush towards the bed. Colby looked momentarily surprised before deciding it would be beneficial to follow her instructions and placed the mask back on. She checked her patient, mumbling to herself. "Damn law enforcement, think they're damned invincible, never do as they're told. Special Agent my ass, not got the brains he was born with."

Colby met the looks of the others standing behind her, all of them trying their hardest not to laugh at this onslaught of mumbling from the diminutive form. Something told them that she may be small, but was definitely not to be messed with. The nurse turned on the group. "Out! Every last one of you, get out of this room, now!" They all glanced back over at Colby who looked at them with big green pleading eyes, begging them to stay and protect him. Instead they all smiled gleefully and called out their 'goodbyes' and 'see you later' as they left a very uncomfortable looking Colby being tucked in by the irate nurse. They all laughed the whole way out to the cars, the look on their friend's face had been priceless, but it was also the relief of knowing that he was doing well and would likely be discharged from the hospital tomorrow into the care of Alan Eppes. The youngest team member would be back causing havoc before they knew it.

* * *

**A/N: I had planned to end it there, but perhaps there is a bit more to this story, would be interested in your thoughts.**

**For those of you that have read Oblivion and Emergence, the promised follow up is currently a work in progress, but this kind of stole my attention, I will start posting that one soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Nope, no miracles have taken place, still don't own Numb3rs or the characters.**

**A/N: Alright I went with the majority and did another, final chapter, to this story.**

Colby watched in disgust as his team, Alan and Charlie left him to the not so tender mercies of his nurse. She bustled around tidying his room and glaring at him every few seconds, as if he was going to suddenly disappear on her. Finally her 'skills' were needed elsewhere and she left the room, but not before giving the blanket and sheets one final tug and tucking them tightly round her patient. He kept his eye on her until she was out of the room before resting his head back and allowing his eyes to close, drifting off into a deep sleep. It was sometime later when he started to thrash in the bed, there was nobody to see and since he had been removed from all but the O2 monitor no alarm was raised. He was back in the spillway, hanging from the cable, Charlie reached down to pull him up but he missed. Amita was screaming at the mathematician to be careful. Colby reached up again, this time managing to grab on to Charlie's hand, he tried to pull himself up but his strength had left him, before he could do anything both he and Charlie were tumbling back into the water. He woke up, his bed sheets twisted round his legs and soaked with sweat, the oxygen mask was still in place, but it was making him even more uncomfortable. He took a couple of deep breaths and then removed the offending item. He could see the O2 monitor was sitting at 95%, which he knew was within acceptable levels, so he left the mask on the bed next to him, trying to get his shaking body under control. After a few minutes he sat himself up and straightened his bedding, he was just about to put the mask back on when the demon nurse returned.

"Put that mask back on this minute Agent Granger, if I have to tell you again I will call the doctor and your stay will be extended." She strode over to the bed with a speed that Colby wouldn't have believed her capable of if he hadn't seen it for himself. She snatched the mask out of his hand and placed it back over his face. "You aren't on oxygen for the fun of it young man." Something in the eyes of the man she was tending to made her stop for a moment. "Are you alright?" Her patient nodded. "No pain?" Her voice softer than before. He shook his head. Sighing at the lack of response she resolved to keep a closer eye on him. Pulling the sheets tight around him once more she left the room, glancing over her shoulder as she reached the doorway and watched the man's eyes close with exhaustion. She knew that the younger patients thought she was uncaring, but it was exactly the opposite, she wanted to see them back on their feet and back living their lives. She pulled the door closed quietly behind her to keep out the general noise of the ward.

* * *

"Do you think he'll be alright?" David asked.

"Given time, yes. I don't think we're quite at the end of the road as far as his recovery goes. Colby isn't just all brawn, he's an intelligent man and the psychological impact of what he has been through is going to show up sooner or later." Megan cautioned.

"That's why Dad and I wanted him to come stay with us, figured he'd be better off with people around." Charlie commented.

"It'll help, but we need to encourage him to talk about it. As intelligent as he is, there is a tendency to want to hide how we're feeling from those we work with, we don't want to appear weakened."

"Whatever he needs, we'll make sure he gets it." Don stated, meaning every word, he was still feeling a little guilty about not sending Colby home, despite the common sense part of him knowing that the man would have fought him the whole way.

Alan put his hand on his eldest son's shoulder, knowing exactly what was going through his mind. "He doesn't blame you for any of this, you know."

"Yeah, I know, can't help feeling responsible though." Don shrugged slightly.

"We all feel responsible, that's why we're a team." David pointed out smiling. As they walked out of the hospital he made a call to Colby's neighbour, Eleanor, he had done the same the previous night, reassuring her that the man was fine but he wouldn't be home for a few days yet. Eleanor was delighted that Colby was going to be alright, she extracted a promise from David to call her everyday to let her know how he was doing before hanging up. The 3 FBI agents, along with Charlie and Alan headed for breakfast before going their separate ways, all agreeing to meet up at the hospital later that day. Though Alan had determined to stop by sooner whilst the others were at work.

* * *

Nurse Dawn, the one that Colby saw as his demon nurse, was doing the rounds of her patients, checking their vitals and ensuring they were all comfortable. Although a force to be reckoned with, she took her job very seriously and was extremely experienced, she had seen lots in her time nursing. Leaving Agent Granger's room till last, expecting to have to fight with him over the mask again she quietly opened the door, she was horrified to see the man in what appeared to be the throes of a nightmare. His sheets were on the floor, he was starting to struggle for breath as he panicked, calling out someone's name in between gasps. Dashing to the bed she saw that his stats were dropping and if he didn't get his breathing under control again quickly then he would have to go back on the CPAP. Grabbing hold of Colby's hand with a surprisingly strong grip she squeezed his hand and called out to him. "It's alright Colby, you're safe, come on, wake up now." She rubbed her hand firmly up and down his arm. Deciding the soft approach was failing she used her most forceful voice, which could rival either Don Eppes or Megan Reeves, she kept trying to get him to wake up. "Colby Granger, wake up this minute!" Something in her voice must have penetrated the wall of fear that was wrapped around the man in the bed. He stopped thrashing around and slowly opened his eyes. "That's better, now, slow breaths. Easy now." She kept a tight grip on his hand, avoiding holding the palm which was still tender, as he finally focused on her. She gently brushed his hair back from his forehead. "It's alright, you're safe, in the hospital." She kept an eye on the O2 stats, relieved to see them start to creep back up slightly. Colby's breathing evened out and was no longer coming in ragged gasps, though he could still feel the grip of the fear during the nightmare, with the firm grasp on his hand of his nurse it was starting to slip away. He didn't realise, but she stood by his bed for 10 minutes just holding that hand, waiting for him to settle down, once she was happy that his stats were acceptable she gently released his hand. "I'll be right back." She said softly. He watched her disappear, not quite believing that she was the same nurse who had admonished him earlier for removing his mask. When Nurse Dawn returned she had a trolley with her, on it was a bowl of water, towels and a face cloth, as well as some clean bedding. "Lets get you freshened up and change this bed." Once again the bed was soaked with sweat. With the practiced ease of a professional with years of experience she helped Colby wash, sat him in a chair near the bed then quickly stripped the dirty bedding and replaced it with clean. In no time at all Colby was tucked back in a clean bed, feeling better for having freshened up. The nurse adjusted his pillows for him and he rewarded her with a smile.

"Thanks." He said, simple but effective.

"It's my job." She responded.

"Still, thanks." Colby was sure, as in his job, the nurse didn't get thanked enough for the things she did. People were all too quick to criticise but slow to praise and thank. She gave him a smile, her blue eyes twinkling, it was nice to be appreciated.

"You need some uninterrupted rest, your stats are still on the low side, I'm going to speak with Doctor Jamieson." She watched as the man's face fell. "If you want to move to a general ward those stats have to come back up, you need to rest." Her voice was once again all business. In some ways she reminded Colby of his Nan, she had the same way about her when he was ill. Firm when needed, gentle and soothing if he was upset. Without another word the nurse vanished and returned a few minutes later with Doctor Jamieson in tow.

"Having a bit of a rough time Agent Granger?" The Doctor asked.

Colby shrugged and then caught sight of Nurse Dawn's glare. "A little. Bad dream that's all."

The Doctor checked Colby over, listening to his lungs and chest, ensuring that he wasn't in any pain. After finishing her examination, she came to the same conclusion as the nurse, the patient needed rest, or he'd be staying in the HDU another 24 hours. "I want to give you a sedative to help you get a good rest. Would that be OK?"

He thought about it for a moment, maybe sleep was all he needed. The nightmares he had been having were taking it out of him, perhaps the sedative would knock him out enough to prevent him from having any more dreams. "Alright." He responded softly. Nurse Dawn smiled knowingly and pulled a syringe already prepared and handed it to the Doctor who in turn injected it into the cannular. "That should help you sleep for a few hours, it's only a mild one. Hopefully when you wake up we'll be able to take off the oxygen mask." The Doctor left the room, whilst the nurse watched over her patient as he fell into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when Alan Eppes pulled up in the hospital parking lot and made his way through the hallways to the HDU, he had hoped to find that Colby had been transferred to a general ward, but was disappointed on this front. He entered the agent's room and found him soundly asleep, he smiled affectionately. The young man looked so innocent and relaxed, the same as his sons did when they fell into a deep sleep. A throat clearing behind him made him turn around, only to be confronted by the demon nurse that had kicked them out just that morning, before he could say anything she waved for him to follow her down the hallway slightly so as not to disturb the sleeping Colby. She quickly explained about the nightmare and the fact that his stats had dropped slightly which had delayed his transfer. Doctor Jamieson would be along shortly to assess him and see if he could be taken off the oxygen, if he could then he would be transferred in the next couple of hours. Alan smiled and thanked the nurse before returning to the room and taking a seat beside the bed. Megan had been right, his mind would take longer to heal than his body, the dreams were evidence of the possible psychological trauma still to come.

Colby stirred, then stretched, which was quickly followed by a groan, his body still ached, though his chest felt easier and his breathing more comfortable, which he was grateful for. Opening his eyes he was surprised to find Alan Eppes sitting watching him.

"Well hello, how're you feeling?" Asked the man he saw as a surrogate father.

Pausing to think about the question before answering, he finally smiled slightly. "Better, thanks."

"Well that's good to hear." Doctor Jamieson said as she walked into the room. Once again she quickly examined her patient. "Alright, we can remove that mask now, your stats have been stable, I think we'll be able to transfer you to a general ward in a couple of hours."

"Then can I get out tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.

"Hey, don't run before you can walk." Cautioned Alan.

The Doctor smiled. "We'll see how things go." She was used to her patients wanting to escape. Leaving Alan and Colby alone she left to arrange for him to be taken down to the general medical ward later that afternoon.

"The nurse tells me you've had some nightmares."

Colby looked at his hands resting on top of the sheets. "Yeah." He mumbled.

"Not really surprising, son." He put a hand over Colby's. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not right now, if you don't mind?" He wasn't ready to face the dreams just yet.

"Alright, but if you need to talk, I'm here." Alan received a grateful smile from Colby. The two men spent the rest of the time playing chess, Alan had brought a small travel set with him. This carried on until a pair of orderlies came to take him down to his new room. Colby said thank you to Nurse Dawn and assured her he would be a model patient until his release.

The following day, a full 24 hours after being transferred, Doctor Jamieson had agreed that he could be discharged, since he was going to be staying with the Eppes family. It was a very happy Colby Granger that allowed himself to be pushed in a wheelchair out of the hospital to Don's waiting SUV. He was under strict instructions to rest for another 48 hours, he was declared unfit for duty for another week, he would then need to see the FBI Doctor who would decide if he could return to the field, desk duty or would have to stay off longer. At that moment Colby didn't care, as he settled himself into the passenger seat of the car. Don smiled to himself as he pushed the wheelchair back to the hospital entrance, then climbed into the drivers seat. "Ready?"

"Hell yes!" Responded Colby.

Don set off for Charlie's, before he got there though he needed to say something to Colby. "I'm sorry." He said simply.

Looking at his Supervisor and friend confused, he asked. "What for?"

"Not sending you home the day you were washed into the spillway."

"Don, man, you tried, I was too stubborn to see what was best, wanted to get Spectre too badly for trying to kill Charlie, Amita and me. Anyway, Doctor Jamieson said that regardless of what I did those couple of days if I was going to suffer the symptoms of secondary drowning then nothing I did would have prevented it, or caused it. Believe me when I say that none of this is your fault, Spectre is the one to blame, if anybody is. Alright?"

The Supervisor glanced briefly over at his agent, there was no accusation in his green eyes, only sincerity. "Alright."

They pulled up outside the Eppes residence, before Colby could even get out of the SUV his partner was there, grabbing his bag, Don had stopped at his place to pick up the things he'd need for a few days away. "Hey bud, good to see you out of hospital."  
"Man, great to be out of hospital."

"Granger! Quit chatting and get in here, you're supposed to be resting." Came the strident voice of Megan.

"Damn, take me back to the hospital and to the tender care of Nurse Dawn would ya?" He asked Don and David in a pretend whisper.

"I heard that, here, now!"

"Megan, for heavens sake, the man is not a dog!" Came Alan's voice from behind her. "Come on in Colby, make yourself comfortable in the sitting room." Alan directed, sending David up to the solarium with Colby's bag. "We'll have some dinner soon, rest until then."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Megan rolled her eyes. "Granger, do you know the definition of rest?"

"Actually, I do. It's a noun and there are several definitions, a period or interval of inactivity, repose, solitude, or tranquillity, being just one."

David put his hand over his mouth trying hard to stop the laughter that threatened to overwhelm him. Don quickly followed his Dad into the kitchen to join Charlie and Amita, he really didn't want to get caught in the crossfire of this one.

"Sit your smartass down!" Megan pointed at one of the comfortable chairs.

"Yes, Mom." Colby smiled sweetly.

Megan shook her head and marched off to see if the others needed any help, leaving David to keep an eye on his wayward partner. As soon as he thought Megan was out of ear shot David let the laughter out. "Man, you're lucky you just got outta the hospital, otherwise she'd be putting you in it for an extended stay for that!"

"She'll get over it." Colby gave David a cheeky grin.

"Whilst we're on our own, there's something I need to say. I'm sorry that it took me so long to get into your apartment. We should have exchanged keys again ages ago, I dunno why we didn't."

"David, I'm gonna tell you what I told Don. None of this was your fault."

"If it hadn't been for Eleanor letting me in we'd have had to wait another 10 minutes for Don to arrive with your spare keys, we might have been too late."

Colby leant forward, forcing his partner to look him in the eye. "Man, I owe you my life, again! If's, buts, maybes, they're no good bro. You weren't too late, and none of what happened is laid at your door, again, as I told Don, if anyone's to blame it's Spectre. Clear?"

"Yeah, crystal." David gave his partner a lopsided grin. It sure was good to be sitting here with Colby, though he still had a little trouble breathing if he did too much and had a continual look of exhaustion on his face, he was alive.

"Dinners ready!" Amita called from the dining room.

Both David and Colby got up and walked through, greeting Charlie and Amita as they sat down. The meal that followed was full of laughter and teasing, most of it at Colby's expense. Alan had been watching his surrogate son as closely as if it was one of his own boys he was looking out for, it wasn't lost on him that Colby didn't eat a great deal, or that he was starting to show signs that he would need to go to bed soon. Realising that making a fuss wasn't the right way to get him to go upstairs Alan spoke to the group. "Right, Colby, through to the sitting room please. You lot can help me clear this away." Another sign that the young agent was tired, the fact he didn't argue and did as he was told, the others exchanged concerned glances, but took Alan's lead and didn't make a fuss, just helped clear the table.

Colby sat in one of the comfortable rockers and rested his head back, the moment he did that he was lost, his eyes closed and he was fast asleep. Leaving the noisy kitchen to check on their guest Alan smiled when he saw that his plan had worked and, at the very least, Colby was resting, even if he wasn't in bed. He suggested to the others that they go and sit outside, it was a warm night and they would be less likely to disturb their friend. The group took it in turns to pop their heads into the sitting room to check on him.

Charlie peeked round the corner of the archway leading into the sitting room. Don had checked on Colby last and had said he was resting peacefully, that was not the sight that met Charlie. His friend's face was contorted, whether in pain or fear he couldn't tell, he was calling out, not loud enough to be heard outside, but Charlie could hear his and Amita's names. Unsure what to do he stood for a moment, wanting to go to his friend, but not wanting to embarrass him when he woke and found Charlie had witnessed his distress. The decision was made for him when Colby cried out, he rushed to the man and pulled a chair up next to him, he had startled himself out of the dream and was physically shaking. Not saying anything Charlie rested a hand on his arm, then got up quickly, went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water. He handed it to Colby, who opened it with shaking hands and smiled his thanks. Taking a long drink and giving him time to think he turned to face Charlie.

"Colby, you can talk to me, you know?"

"I know, I just don't know what to say." Colby thought that was probably a first, the only other time he was stumped for something to say was when Charlie had just asked him something about advanced math.

"Tell me about the dream." Prompted Charlie. "Perhaps if you talk about it then it will no longer hold any power."

Colby smiled at that. "You sound like Megan." Neither man realised the others had rushed in at the sound of Colby's cry and were standing out of sight, listening, there to help if required.

"Am I wrong?" He asked gently, knowing that Colby would have been through the profiler training as well.

"No."

"Then talk to me."

Taking another sip of water, Colby sighed, he needed to tell someone about the dreams, or they would keep haunting him. "I didn't protect you."

All of those listening were surprised by this confession, especially since none of them felt it was true. "What do you mean? If it hadn't been for you, Amita and I could have been killed. You were the cautious one." Charlie replied.

"Neither of you should have been down in the spillway."

"Maybe you're right, but that doesn't mean that you didn't protect us."

"In my dream, I'm hanging from the cable underneath the bridge, you lean over to pull me up, Amita is shouting at you to be careful. We both end up back in the spillway. I cause you to drown." Colby ran a hand through his damp hair.

"It didn't happen man, we're all safe."

Realising that he wasn't being clear enough, Colby tried again. "I should never have let you put yourself in danger to help me. I could have got you killed, its my job to protect you, not the other way round."

Suddenly realising the crux of the problem, Charlie sat back. At that moment the others decided it was time to join this conversation and entered quietly taking seats near Colby. "Let me ask you something, if the roles were reversed, would you have laid on that bridge to pull me up?"

"Of course!" Colby stated, somewhat indignant.

"Why?"

"Why?" Repeated the agent dumbfounded.

"Yeah, why would you put yourself at risk like that?"

"It's my job for one, but mostly because you're like my little brother and I couldn't let anything happen to you." He paused. "Besides, Don would kill me." He tried to add some levity to an extremely serious conversation.

That got a small smile from his audience. "So how is that any different to what I did?"

"It's not your job!"

"You're right, it's not, but over the last few years you've become family, how could I just let you fall back into the water and drown, any more than I could have Don?"

Resting a hand on Charlie's shoulder Don decided it was time to add his own comments. "This is what's been bothering you? The fact that my little brother saved your big brawny ass?!" He was purposely confrontational, he wanted Colby to get how he felt out in the open, if seeing a therapist had done nothing else, it had made Don realise the value of open, honest communication with friends and family.

"NO!" Colby didn't care that the mathematician had saved him, it wasn't about being macho. "I put him in danger, that's what's bothering me, like I said, he's like my brother, I wouldn't put a family member in danger."  
"So you feel guilty?" Asked Megan.

"Yeah." Whispered Colby.

"Colby, look at me." Don spoke firmly but his voice was softer, and green eyes met brown. "I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you would lay your life on the line for anyone in this room, what you have to accept is that we would do the same for you, including Charlie. His instinct was to help a friend, a brother."

"I have a question." Alan spoke up. Colby raised an enquiring eyebrow. "If Charlie hadn't risked his own neck to save you and, god forbid, you had drowned, how would he have lived with himself? How would anyone in the same situation?"

Not to be left out David had his own piece of wisdom to throw in. "You told both Don and I today that we had nothing to feel guilty about, right?" His partner nodded. "Neither do you. It's not like you pushed Charlie in the path of a moving bus, man. None of this is your fault, not the spillway, not the secondary drowning, none of it. There's only one person to blame for all this…"

"Spectre." Colby said the name softly, but everyone heard and nodded their agreement. They watched as some of the light came back into their friend's green eyes. The emotion of the conversation they had just shared had really taken it out of him, but his body posture told them he had just taken his first step to full recovery, both mental and physical.

"Colby, go to bed, you look all in." Megan said softly, getting up and pulling the large man to his feet. She embraced him before giving him a gentle push towards the stairs.

"Yeah, I do feel a bit tired." He was met by several pairs of rolling eyes at the massive understatement. "Thanks, night." He slowly made his way upstairs and got into bed, his head hit the pillow and he was asleep in seconds.

"Will he be alright?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah Chuck, thanks to you, he will be." Don smiled at his little brother, proud of the man he had become.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, that's your lot for this story! I wrote this in about 3 hours this evening, following a rotten day at the office. I hope that those of you that asked for another chapter weren't too disappointed. Back to work on my other 2 fics that are in progress now!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer : Numb3rs and it's characters belong to someone other than I.**

**A/N : Alright, I slipped up and didn't mark it as complete. Thanks for pointing that out NaggingCube! So, in recognition of my stupidity I will give you a short epilogue!**

Colby thanked Alan and Charlie Eppes profusely. He had stayed with them for 4 nights, they had sat with him through sleepless hours following nightmares, helping him talk through the things that were bothering him. He was finally returning to his apartment, David was waiting patiently to drive him. He slid contentedly into the passenger seat of his partner's car, happy to be going home. The man in the driver's seat was also happy, it was another step closer to Colby coming back to work, something they were both looking forward to. They pulled up outside Colby's apartment building and both men got out. David grabbing his friend's bag from the backseat.

"Man, I'm not an invalid, I can carry my own bag!" Colby sighed.

"Make the most of it whilst you can if I were you, before you know it you'll be back at work and nobody will be waiting on you." David responded.

Walking to the apartment complex Colby was surprised to see the door open and his neighbour Eleanor standing the other side.

"Colby!" She exclaimed, pulling him into her embrace as he reached her.

David chuckled as he watched his friend redden at the attention, the smile was soon wiped off his face when she turned her attention to him and embraced him as well. Colby's grin was equally as wide as David's had been.

"Come on, come on, in you come, you shouldn't be loitering around out here, upstairs with you." She chided her neighbour.

Not wanting to upset Eleanor, Colby did as instructed, closely followed by David. When they reached his apartment the door was open, and Colby turned to his friend for an explanation.

"Oh, I let Eleanor in this morning on my way over to collect you, I bought some groceries for you and she kindly offered to put them away as I was running late." David explained.

Colby wasn't sure how he felt about the elderly lady being able to walk round his apartment freely, but he turned to look at her and couldn't be mad, she just wanted to help him. Entering his apartment he dropped his keys on the table in the hallway and walked through to his sitting room. Eleanor had obviously cleaned, there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen. "Eleanor, you didn't have to clean!"

"I wanted to. I've changed your bed and done some washing too. I know your Mom doesn't live near here and you have no family close by, you've been so good to me helping me with things, I wanted to do something in return, this gave me the chance."

It was Colby's turn to pull Eleanor into a hug, touched by her thoughtfulness. He thought he should introduce Alan to his neighbour, with the way they fussed around the younger generation they'd probably get on well. He found himself being pushed into his armchair. "Sit down, I'll make you a drink." He went to protest, but she was gone before he had a chance. David followed her out to the kitchen and came back shortly with a plate of homemade muffins and some mugs of coffee on a tray. He smiled at Colby who was relaxing, it wasn't often he saw his best friend so calm and still, despite his absence being enforced by illness it seemed the break had done him good. He handed Colby a mug of coffee and a cake. He was just taking his first bite of the chocolate chip muffin when Eleanor bustled back in and sat down.

"How are you feeling Colby?" She asked softly.

"I'm fine Eleanor, honestly. I'm seeing the FBI doctor in 2 days, hoping he'll let me back to work."

"Oh, so soon, is that such a good idea?"

"Don't worry Eleanor, the FBI doc won't let Colby here back to work unless he's definitely fit for duty. In fact our boss won't either. Don is insistent that this time he takes the time that he needs to fully recover."

The three sat chatting for a while before David had to leave to head back to the office, he helped Eleanor clear away the remnants of the coffee and muffins before escorting her back to her apartment, assuring an anxious Colby that he wouldn't forget to come by and pick him up the morning of his appointment with the FBI doctor. Don had refused to allow Colby to retrieve his car, knowing that the man would be at the office before cleared if he had the transport to hand.

* * *

Two days later Colby was watching out the window of his apartment for his partner. He was late, typical, if he missed the appointment with the doctor then he wouldn't be allowed to return to work. His partner was normally so punctual. As soon as David pulled into the parking lot he grabbed his wallet, cell and keys, dashing out the door, ensuring it was locked behind him. He ran down the stairs and out the door of the complex, just managing to avoid knocking Eleanor down.

"Good luck Colby!" She called after him.

He turned to wave at her and carried on to where his partner had just stopped in front of the building. "Your late!" Colby growled, throwing himself into the passenger seat.

"Morning to you too, what a ray of sunshine you are this morning!" Responded David smiling. "Man, calm down, I'm only 5 minutes late."

"I don't want to be late."

"You won't be, jeeze, take it easy. You're gonna push your blood pressure through the roof." David concentrated on negotiating his way through the LA traffic. When they pulled up outside the FBI building Colby was out the door before David had a chance to turn off the engine.

"See you upstairs when I'm done." He called over his shoulder, jogging over to the stairwell, deciding against waiting on the elevator, it would be just his luck that it would get stuck. David stood leaning on the door of his car watching his partner's disappearing back, he couldn't remember a time when his friend had been so nervous, shaking his head he got his jacket and walked sedately to the elevator and went up to the 7th floor to wait for the outcome of Colby's visit to the doctor. As he stepped into the bullpen he was met by Don and Megan.

"How is he?" Don asked.

"Like a cat on a hot tin roof!" Chuckled David.

"He looked pretty good the last time I saw him, all he needs to do is convince the doctor." Stated Megan.

"Lets hope so." Replied David, seating himself in the cubicle he shared with Colby. The man looked up every time he heard the elevator doors, something that didn't go unnoticed by either Don or Megan.

Colby closed the door of the doctor's office behind him, that had been the longest 30 minutes of his life. Taking a deep breath he walked slowly out of the office and headed for the 7th floor where he knew the team were waiting to find out how he got on. When the elevator doors opened he stepped out into the familiar bullpen, there was the usual daily activity. He approached the cubicles shared by the Eppes team, aware of 6 pairs of eyes watching his progress. It seemed Alan, Charlie and Amita had all dropped by to see how he got on. He stopped before them, not looking any of them in the eye. The silence between them seemed to stretch for hours, until, finally, David couldn't stand it any longer. "Well?" He demanded.

Colby looked up at his partner, pausing before replying, then his face broke into a grin. "Clean bill of health, cleared to return to duty!" He jubilantly handed the paperwork to Don to prove he was telling the truth.

"Everyone, get your coffee now, Granger's back on duty!" Megan called out, earning herself a friendly, gentle push from Colby.

"Glad to hear you're fit and healthy again." Alan, patted the young man's arm in a fatherly manner.

"Place hasn't been the same without you." Stated Charlie, who spent as much time there as any of the team.

"Good to have you back, partner." David reached out, the 2 friends clasped hands and bumped shoulders in that unique way men have of expressing their joy without actually embracing one another.

"I'll echo that." Don said. He smiled to himself, team Eppes was complete once more.

Colby sat at his desk, delighted to find himself back at work, he had been bored sitting by himself at home. Don walked up quietly behind him, put his hand on the young agent's shoulder and grinned, winking at the others. "Welcome back dude." He dumped a huge pile of paperwork on the desk next to him and walked away with a chuckle.

Colby groaned dramatically. "Can I get some breakfast before I start this?" He turned to face his boss.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely better, thinking about your stomach again!" Megan laughed.

He then uttered the magic words. "My treat. Alan, Charlie, Amita, you're welcome to join us, Megan, why don't you call Larry too." Deciding that Colby taking his wallet out and spending his money on breakfast for them might not happen again for a long time Don readily agreed.

The team grabbed their jackets and the extended family left to get their breakfast. As the elevator doors closed behind them all the 7th floor heard was laughter.

**ABSOLUTELY THE END!!!**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts and general encouragement. I hope that you are all now content with this story and where it has ended as I am 100% done! On to those other 2 stories I mentioned previously now.**


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